Roadrunners to open regular season on road this weekend against pair of ranked foes

Courtesy: UTSA AthleticsRelease: 09/12/2013

Courtesy UTSA Athletics

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SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will open its eighth season when it plays at No. 13 Baylor on Friday night before traveling to College Station for a matchup with 12th-ranked Texas A&M two days later. Both matches are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.

The Roadrunners return nine letterwinners and welcome 14 newcomers to the Alamo City this season, which is their first as a member of Conference USA. Eighth-year head coach Steve Ballard welcomes back a pair of seniors in Anka Grotle, who has started all but two matches during her career, and Laylla da Cruz. Grotle will look to anchor a defense that will play in front of freshmen goalkeepers Bubba Makela and Katherine Tesno. Offensively, sophomore Kauwela Neal is the team’s top returning scorer from a season ago.

The Bears return eight starters and 22 letterwinners from last year’s squad that went 19-1-5, including a 5-0-3 mark in the Big 12 Conference, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Baylor, which was picked to finish third in the Big 12 preseason poll, will be replacing its top three scorers from last season, a group that accounted for 48 percent of the offense. Defender Kat Ludlow returns along with goalie Michelle Kloss. The junior keeper made 25 starts and registered a 0.55 goals-against average in 2012. Baylor dropped a 2-0 decision at No. 10 Notre Dame in its lone exhibition contest last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Aggies will host No. 7 Duke on Friday night before welcoming the Roadrunners to town. Texas A&M returns seven starters from a team that went 19-5-1 last season and claimed the Southeastern Conference Western Division crown before advancing to the NCAA's Sweet 16. Leading the group of returners is midfielder Meghan Streight, who started all 25 games last season and tallied 12 points on three goals and six assists. The McKinney native recently was added to the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy Watch List. Streight (No. 32), forward Annie Kunz (No. 33), goalkeeper Jordan Day (No. 63) and defender Rachel Lenz (No. 68) all rank in TopDrawerSoccer.com’s Top 100 Player Rankings to start the season.

UTSA will look to improve upon its 2-5 all-time record in season openers and notch its first win against Baylor on Friday. The Bears lead the series 6-0-1, including a 4-0 victory in San Antonio on Sept. 9 last season.

Texas A&M owns a 3-0 lead in the all-time series and the Aggies claimed a 2-0 home win against the Roadrunners last Aug. 25.